Peter "Pete" Sampras (b. August 12, 1971, in Washington, D.C.) is a former World No. 1 tennis player from the United States. During his 15 year career, he won a record 14 Grand Slam men's singles titles in 52 appearances and finished the year as No. 1 on the ATP rankings for six consecutive years, a record for the open era and tying him for third all-time. Sampras won the singles title at Wimbledon seven times, an all-time record shared with William Renshaw. He also won five singles titles at the U.S. Open, an open era record shared with Jimmy Connors. Bud Collins has named Sampras as one of the top five men's tennis players of all-time, and TENNIS Magazine has named him the greatest player from 1965 through 2005. On January 17, 2007, Sampras was inducted into the 2007 class of the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Tennis career

Pete Sampras was born in Washington, D.C., and is the third son of Sam and Georgia Sampras, Greek immigrants from Sparta. From an early age, Sampras showed signs of outstanding athletic ability. The young Sampras discovered a tennis racquet in the basement of his home and spent hours hitting balls against the wall. In 1978, the Sampras family moved to Palos Verdes, California, and the warmer climate there allowed seven-year-old Pete to play more tennis. The Sampras family joined the Peninsula Racquet Club. It was here that Pete's ability became apparent. By the age of 11, he had already learned the solid serve and volley tactic that would become the hallmark of his game. He was spotted by Dr. Peter Fisher, a pediatrician and a tennis enthusiast, who became his mentor for a long part of his career. He oversaw his training and arranged coaches. Fisher was instrumental in converting Sampras's two handed backhand to a one handed shot so that Sampras would have a better chance of winning Wimbledon. Fisher was later convicted of child molestation, but Sampras maintained that Fisher's behaviour towards him was normal and straightforward. Sampras later gave due credit to Fisher for orchestrating his early development as a player.

Sampras turned professional in 1988 at the age of 17. He won his first top-level singles title in February 1990 at Philadelphia. In August that year, he captured his first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open. He defeated Ivan Lendl in the quarterfinals and John McEnroe in the semifinals, to set up a final with another up-and-coming American player, Andre Agassi. Sampras beat Agassi in straight sets to become the U.S. Open's youngest-ever male singles champion at the age of 19 years and 28 days. The rivalry between Agassi and Sampras became the dominant rivalry in tennis in the 1990s, with Sampras winning 20 of the 34 matches they played.

1991 saw Sampras capture the first of five career titles at the year-end Tennis Masters Cup. In 1992, he finished runner-up at the U.S. Open and played on the U.S. team that won the Davis Cup. (He helped the United States win the cup again in 1995.)

In April 1993, Sampras reached the World No. 1 ranking for the first time. His rise to the No. 1 spot was controversial because he had not recently won any Grand Slam titles. But he justified the ranking three months later by claiming his first Wimbledon title, beating former World No. 1 Jim Courier in the final. This was swiftly followed by his second U.S. Open title. He finished the year as the clear No. 1 and set a new ATP Tour record that year by becoming the first player to serve over 1,000 aces in a season.

Sampras dominated Wimbledon for the rest of the decade following his breakthrough title in 1993. He won three consecutive titles from 1993 through 1995. He lost a 1996 quarterfinal match to Richard Krajicek, who won the title that year. Sampras, however, then won four consecutive titles from 1997 through 2000 to become the most successful male player in Wimbledon history. His win in 2000 also allowed him to break Roy Emerson's record of 12 Grand Slam men's singles titles.

Sampras won two Australian Open titles. In 1994, he defeated American Todd Martin in the final, and in 1997, he defeated Carlos Moya of Spain in the final. One of Sampras's most memorable matches there came in 1995 when he played Courier in the semifinals. Sampras's long time coach and close friend, Tim Gullickson, had mysteriously collapsed during the tournament and was forced to return to the United States. Gullickson was later diagnosed with brain cancer from which he succumbed the following year. Saddened by Gullickson's illness, Sampras began visibly weeping during the match, but somehow managed to win. Sampras then lost the final to Agassi. Paul Annacone took over as Sampras's full time coach after Gullickson's illness made it impossible for him to continue coaching.

Sampras's best surface was undoubtedly the fast-playing grass courts. He was also known, however, for his all-round game and strong competitive instinct. He won back-to-back U.S. Open titles in 1995 and 1996. Sampras's only real weakness was on clay courts, where the slow surface tempered his natural attacking serve-and-volley game. His best performance at the French Open came in 1996, when he lost a semifinal match to the eventual winner, Yevgeny Kafelnikov. Despite his limited success at Roland Garros, Sampras did win some significant matches on clay. He won the 1994 Italian Open, defeating Boris Becker in the final, and two singles matches in the 1995 Davis Cup final against Russians Andrei Chesnokov and Kafelnikov in Moscow. Sampras also won a 1998 clay court tournament in Atlanta, defeating Jason Stoltenberg in the final.

In 1998, Sampras's number-one ranking was challenged by Chilean player Marcelo Rios. (In 1993, 1994, 1996, and 1997, Sampras had dominated the ATP tour.) Sampras failed to defend his Australian Open title, losing in the quarterfinals, and won Wimbledon only after a hard fought five-set victory over Goran Ivanišević. Sampras lost a five-set U.S. Open semifinal to the eventual winner Patrick Rafter after suffering a leg injury in the third set while leading the match. He lost another semifinal at the Tennis Masters Cup. Nevertheless, Sampras finished the year as the top ranked player for the sixth year in a row.

1999 also started out disappointingly, as he withdrew from the Australian Open and failed to win a title during the early part of the season. However, he then had a 24-match winning streak, including the Stella Artois Championships, Wimbledon (equaling Roy Emerson's record of 12 Grand Slam singles titles), Los Angeles, and Cincinnati. He was forced to retire from the RCA Championships and the U.S. Open because of a herniated disc in his back. Although he won the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup, he failed to finish the year as World No. 1 for the first time in seven years.

After winning Wimbledon in 2000, Sampras did not win another title for two years. He lost in the final of the 2000 and 2001 U.S. Open to Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt, respectively, leading many to speculate that Sampras would never capture another major title. At Wimbledon in 2001, Sampras lost to Roger Federer 7-6(7), 5-7, 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-5 in the fourth round. The upset ended Sampras's 31-match winning streak at Wimbledon. In 2002, Sampras suffered another early exit from Wimbledon, losing in the second round to 145th ranked George Bastl of Switzerland, whose best surface was red clay.

Sampras had a relatively poor summer leading up to the 2002 U.S. Open. Greg Rusedski, who Sampras had defeated in a long five-set third round match at the U.S. Open, said that Sampras was "a step and a half slower" and predicted that Sampras would lose his next match. Sampras, however, then defeated two young and upcoming stars of the game, Tommy Haas in the fourth round and Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals. He then defeated Sjeng Schalken in the semifinals to reach his third straight U.S. Open final. This time, he faced Agassi, who he had met in his very first Grand Slam final 12 years earlier. After a four-set battle between the two veterans, Sampras claimed a record 14th Grand Slam singles title and matched Jimmy Connors's record of five U.S. Open singles championships. The tournament turned out to be the last of Sampras's career.

Although he played no tour events in the following 12 months, Sampras did not officially announce his retirement until August 2003, just prior to the U.S. Open. Sampras chose not to defend his title, but his retirement announcement was timed so that he could say farewell at a special ceremony organized for him at the open.

Sampras played the first exhibition match since his retirement on April 6, 2006, in Houston, Texas against Robby Ginepri. Ginepri won the match 6-3, 7-6.

During his career, Sampras won 64 top-level singles titles (including 14 Grand Slams and 11 ATP Masters Series titles) and two doubles titles. He was ranked the World No. 1 for a record 286 weeks and was year-end No. 1 for a record six consecutive years from 1993 through 1998.

In 2006, Sampras announced he would be playing in World Team Tennis events.

Playing style

Sampras was a serve and volleyer known for several facets in his game, in particular:

an accurate and powerful first serve, one of the best of all time, leading to the nickname 'Pistol Pete';

a second serve nearly as powerful as his first, possibly his most dangerous weapon;

great disguise on both his first and second serves;

his athleticism, footspeed, and court coverage;

classic, almost throwback form on most of his strokes, including a classic eastern grip forehand and similar grip on the backhand;

his forehand, and in particular his "running forehand" (a forehand hit on the run), was considered the best in the world;

a reliable one-handed backhand, which he could hit with topspin or slice deep;

his net game - Sampras's volleys were excellent, and he arguably possessed the best overhead smash in the history of the men's game;

his mental focus, allowing him to play his best at decisive moments, such as hitting second serve aces at break point down.

Sampras's classically smooth service motion gave him many easy points on aces or service winners. Overall, his serve had great disguise, very quick racquet-head speed, great back-arch, powerful leg-drive, and incredible forearm/wrist pronation. The speed of his serves was frequently 120-140 mph on 1st and 110-120 mph on second serves. Sampras is considered by many to have had the best second serve in history. He was known for producing aces on critical points, even with his second serves.

Opponents frequently played to his backhand, which was considered to be his weaker side. To counter this, Sampras often camped on the backhand side while rallying from the baseline and often baited opponents for his great running forehand. Later on in his career, as his foot speed slightly declined, Sampras was forced to play closer to the centre of the court.

His style changed dramatically between the early 1990s and the time he retired. Sampras excelled on hard courts. He served and volleyed on his first serve and frequently stayed back on his second serve. Towards the latter part of his career on hard courts, Sampras played a serve and volley game on both his first and second serves. On grass courts, Sampras served and volleyed on both serves throughout his career. When not serving in the early years of his career, his strategy was to be aggressive from the baseline, put opponents in a defensive position, and finish points at the net.

In his later years, he became even more aggressive and would either employ a chip-and-charge strategy—just chip back the return and run up to the net, waiting for a volley or try to hit an offensive shot on the return and follow his return to the net. Sampras's aggressive strategies worked best on fast surfaces—like hardcourts and, in particular, grass— but were weaker on slow surfaces like clay. As a result, he dominated Wimbledon (played on grass) but never won the French Open (played on clay).

Personal and family life

Sampras's older sister Stella is head coach at UCLA, and his younger sister, Marion, is a teacher in Los Angeles. His older brother, Gus, is tournament director at Scottsdale ATP event.

On September 30, 2000, Sampras married American actress and former Miss Teen USA, Bridgette Wilson. On November 21, 2002, their son Christian Charles was born. On July 29, 2005, the couple welcomed their second son, Ryan Nikolaos.

Sampras has thalassemia minor, an inherited disease that causes anaemia. Thalassemia minor limits physical and athletic endurance and causes those who have it to feel fatigued when forced to perform athletic feats. Sampras was generally able to control this condition, although he was not known for his endurance in extremely long matches. Sampras vomited on the court during his epic 7-6, 5-7, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 win in the 1996 US Open quarterfinals against Alex Corretja - a match that lasted 4 hours and 9 minutes. During this match, Pete's close friend and radio presenter Patrick McCafferty turned up during the second set.

Sampras's businesslike attitude to tennis and cautious handling of the press led critics to bemoan his lack of charisma, but his natural talent and work ethic, combined with his introverted nature, led him to let his accomplishments speak for themselves.

Awards

Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Player of the Year for six consecutive years from 1993 through 1998.

International Tennis Federation World Champion for six consecutive years from 1993 through 1998.

U.S. Olympic Committee "Sportsman of the Year" in 1997. He was the first tennis player to receive this award.

GQ Magazine's Individual Athlete Award for Man of the Year in 2000.

Selected the No. 1 player (of 25 players) in the past 25 years by a panel of 100 current and past players, journalists, and tournament directors to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the ATP in 1997.

Voted 48th athlete of Top 50 Greatest North American Athletes of ESPN's SportsCentury (also youngest on list).

In 2005, TENNIS Magazine named Sampras the greatest tennis player for the period 1965 through 2005, from its list, TENNIS Magazine's 40 Greatest Players of the TENNIS Era.

Rivalry with Agassi

Andre Agassi was perhaps Sampras's greatest rival, and the rivalry often brought out the best in both players' games. The Sampras-Agassi rivalry reached its height in 1995 when each man agreed to play in the Davis Cup only if the other also played. They were concerned that if one played while the other rested during the weeks leading up to the French Open, the one who rested would have a competitive advantage heading into the year's second Grand Slam event. Both ended up playing, and the U.S. won the Davis Cup that year.

Notable Sampras-Agassi matches of 1995 included the finals of the Australian Open, Indian Wells, Rogers Cup, and U.S. Open, with Sampras winning at Indian Wells and the U.S. Open. The two players traded the number one ranking several times that year. The 1995 U.S. Open men's singles final between Sampras and Agassi was the highest-rated match among U.S. television audiences.

The second highest-rated match of their rivalry was the final of the 2002 U.S. Open. It was the first Sampras-Agassi meeting in a U.S. Open final since 1995. It was also notable because both had defeated several up-and-coming players enroute to the final.

However maybe the most memorable Sampras-Agassi match came in a 2001 U.S. Open quarterfinal. Sampras battled to a 6-7, 7-6, 7-6, 7-6 victory. There were no breaks of serve during the entire match. Reruns of the match are frequently featured on television, especially during U.S. Open rain delays.

The Sampras versus Agassi rivalry goes all the way back to their childhoods when they played against each other in a 1979 junior tournament in Northridge, California at ages eight and nine respectively.

Trivia

He modeled his game after his childhood idol, Rod Laver.

He used a very demanding racket, a small 85-square-inch Wilson racket that was strung at a tight 75 pounds. The high tension would presumably make his groundstrokes less powerful; yet, his strokes were among the most powerful in the game.

As a junior player, he was a defensive baseliner playing with a two-handed backhand. His coach, Pete Fisher, changed him to be a serve and volleyer with a one-handed backhand with Wimbledon in mind.

He was not a particularly notable junior player. He was still adjusting his game and playing at higher age groups to train himself.

Because watching Sampras play in person made them too nervous, his parents attended only his loss to Stefan Edberg in a 1992 Wimbledon semifinal and his victory over Patrick Rafter in the 2000 Wimbledon final. After winning Wimbledon that year -- his record-breaking 13th Grand Slam singles title -- Sampras ran into the stands to hug his parents.

Sampras admitted to not speaking about his condition with thalassemia minor because that would have lessened his aura of invincibility against fellow players.

Sampras had a rabbit named after him in the famous comedy series Father Ted.

During the height of his career, he claimed to sleep twelve hours every night.

Sampras was featured on more than one episode of The Prince of Tennis.

Sampras was referenced in an email episode of the popular cartoon website Homestarrunner.com

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